Canada top court to rule on Wal-Mart union fight

OTTAWA (Reuters) - Wal-Mart Inc. suffered a defeat on
Thursday when Canada's Supreme Court agreed to hear a challenge
of the company's 2005 decision to close a Quebec store that had
been the first in North America to obtain union certification.

Former employees charged they had unfairly lost their jobs
because of their union activities. Wal-Mart's Canadian
subsidiary insisted that they had lost their jobs for the "good
and sufficient reason" of the closure of the store.

The Supreme Court gave no hint of which way it was leaning
on the issue, but its decision to hear the case keeps the
workers' hopes alive.

No Wal-Mart outlets in the United States or Canada have
collective agreements in place, though several in Canada have
received union certification since the closure of the store in
question in this case, which was in Jonquiere, Quebec.

The Supreme Court's eventual ruling will likely affect
union activity and Wal-Mart's response in other stores.

Wal-Mart Canada said it saw hopeful signs in the legal
history of the case as it wound its way through Quebec's
courts.

"Every previous court decision on this matter -- decisions
from the Quebec Superior Court as well as the Quebec Court of
Appeal -- have found in favor of Wal-Mart Canada against the
union and have found that closure of the Jonquiere store was
lawful," spokesman Andrew Pelletier said.

United Food and Commercial Workers Canada, the union
involved, said it would not comment until Friday.
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